Greenland360 Expedition: Preliminary Report

Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland 24th July – 21st August, 2014

The Greenland360 2014 Expedition was organised and led by Cameron Mackay and Craig Mushet, both students at the University of Glasgow. They spent time in their first year of studies planning the logistics of the trip, gaining funding and recruiting the other two expedition members; James Wylie, an Environmental Geography student at the University of Edinburgh and Emily Macduff, an artist currently studying at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy. With all contacts and logistics in place, the team departed the UK on 24th July 2014, flying from Edinburgh to Keflavik, Iceland and onto Kangerlussuaq, Greenland the following day. Once in Greenland, three days were spent in Kangerlussuaq to acquire essential pieces of equipment, before driving to basecamp near the Ice Cap. Based here the team could attempt their objectives in field. Primarily, Several time-lapse cameras were set up to take photos of ten-minute intervals facing the Russell Glacier at separate locations. Their aim was to show the change in the ice in fast motion over a three-week period. This hoped to communicate the issue of climate change to the public through showing the speed at which global warming acts. The cameras were left to stand throughout the day and night for three weeks, before being retrieved before the team left the field. These photographs will be produces as films post-expedition. Several calvings took place over the duration of the expeditions stay in Greenland and calving bays exhibited drastic change over the short period, allowing the footage to powerfully exemplify the issue of ice loss in the Arctic. An aerial camera drone was also used to capture aerial footage of the landscape with a focus on the Glaciers, ice cap and melt water rivers; these areas being inaccessible in some places by humans. The drone and supporting equipment was carried with the team during trekking on the ice cap and was able to be assembled very quickly. All footage was captured using a GoPro camera mounted to the drone. The footage shows new perspectives of the familiar glaciated landscape and will be built into several films post-expedition. Using a DSLR camera, a short documentary was filmed in Greenland, using the expedition members to present about the landscape and scientific relevance of it. This will provide a platform to showcase the time-lapse and drone footage. A small study was also conducted into the perception of local people to the issue of climate change and the impacts this has on culture and landscape in the area. Results from this will be published over the course of the year following the expedition. The expedition, as well as having specific objectives, provided a learning platform the team. Three of whom aim to progress into careers in fieldwork and expedition leading.

Without the significant financial contribution to the expedition from the Gino Watkins Memorial Fund, the Greenland360 project would not have been possible. All team members, Cameron, Craig, Emily and Jamie express sincere appreciation for the support of the GWMF.

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Melting Ice Block at Calving Bay

Ice Cave on Ice Cap, 2 km East from Point 660